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Tag: 2016

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Nick Thomas-Symonds – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nick Thomas-Symonds on 2016-03-14.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of universal credit on the number of children in relative poverty.

    Priti Patel

    The Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and improving life chances for children. We know that work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Evidence shows claimants move into work significantly faster and earn more than under the current system. In addition, from April 2016 Universal Credit provides for 85% of childcare costs meaning more support for hardworking families.

  • Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Dawn Butler – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the scale of human rights abuses against the Oromo people in Ethiopia; and what representations he has made to his Ethiopian counterpart on that issue.

    James Duddridge

    The UK Government is deeply concerned about the handling of protests in Oromia and the reported number of deaths, including many students. I raised these concerns with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros at the African Union Summit in January, stressing the importance of exercising restraint and addressing the root causes of the protests. The Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening) also raised the issue with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on 21 January at the World Economic Forum. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission are currently undertaking an investigation into the allegations, and our Ambassador has stressed the need for transparency and that any members of the security forces who are found to have used excessive force be held to account.

  • Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Ann Clwyd – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ann Clwyd on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of torture in Egyptian detention facilities.

    Mr Tobias Ellwood

    We remain deeply concerned with reports of torture in Egyptian detention facilities and we have raised this on a number of occasions with senior Egyptian officials in Cairo and in London, most recently on 5 May. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Human Rights Report 2015 designated Egypt a human rights priority country and recorded that, “In 2015, reports of torture, police brutality, and forced disappearance increased. A local NGO documented reports of 676 cases of torture and 137 deaths in detention.”

    The UK unreservedly condemns the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as a matter of fundamental principle. The UK will continue to be a leader in advocating strong international systems to combat torture in all its forms.

  • Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Lisa Cameron – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lisa Cameron on 2016-07-13.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish the evidence base for the choice of descriptors used in work capability assessments.

    Penny Mordaunt

    Details of the evidence base and consultative group members involved in the development of the Work Capability Assessment can be found in the Transformation of the Personal Capability assessment reports of September 2006, February 2007 and November 2007.

    http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090605153301/http:/www.workandpensions.gov.uk/welfarereform/pca.asp

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  • Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    Louise Haigh – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the HM Treasury

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Louise Haigh on 2016-09-14.

    To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 12 September 2016 to Question 44656, how many (a) amber, (b) amber green, (c) red and (d) black performance failures there were between May 2014 and October 2015 in respect of benefits and credits error and fraud.

    Jane Ellison

    The process to measure performance as described in the question was introduced as part of the contract variation signed on 13 October 2015. The information is therefore not available for the period requested.

  • Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-01-20.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the maximum level of engagement by children and young people with the commemoration of the First World War.

    David Evennett

    DCMS is working with other Government Departments and our delivery partners to ensure that people of all ages can take part in commemorations of the First World War and remember those who sacrificed so much. As part of the FWW centenary commemorations, the government is providing the opportunity for two pupils and one teacher from every state-funded secondary school in England to visit the FWW battlefields on the Western Front. In 2015, 1,140 Schools and 3,489 pupils and teachers visited FWW battlefields on the Western Front. Since July 2014, 54,702 children and young people visited the Imperial War Museums First World War Galleries as part of a school visit. Over 21,400 people from the UK and overseas wrote a letter for the ‘Letter to an Unknown Soldier’ project, engaging over 500 primary and secondary schools across the UK. On 4 August 2014, 1.4 million 16-24 year olds participated in LIGHTS OUT – an initiative to light a candle in remembrance. As well as the official commemoration programme schools across the UK are organising their own individual events and projects to remember those who took part in the First World War in battle and on the home front.

  • Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Vernon Coaker – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Vernon Coaker on 2016-02-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of the early release of Stormont House legacy funding to support legacy inquests.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    Reform is essential if the legacy inquest system is to deliver effective outcomes for families. The current system was never designed to cope with a large number of highly complex and sometimes linked cases involving very sensitive information. I welcome the efforts of the Lord Chief Justice to review legacy inquests. If workable inquest reform plans come forward, serious consideration would be given to their potential merits.

  • Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    Lord Ouseley – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Ouseley on 2016-03-14.

    To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they propose to take to improve the arrest and prosecution rates for racist attacks, abuse and graffiti on London’s rail network, in the light of the 650 incidents reported since 2013, resulting in only 13 arrests.

    Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

    The Government considers the safety of people using the rail network to be of paramount importance. The British Transport Police (BTP) treats racially motivated hate crimes very seriously and a daily review takes place of every hate crime from the previous 24 hours. In line with the College of Policing’s National Hate Crime Strategy, BTP is working with partners to reduce hate crime and every crime is investigated in accordance with the College of Policing Guidance for the investigation of hate crime.

    In addition, the London Transport Community Safety Partnership (LTCSP), which brings together Transport for London (TfL), the police and other key stakeholders, is looking at this important issue at a strategic level to ensure a coordinated response. Both the BTP and the Metropolitan Police have stepped up operational activity to provide a visible, engaging, reassuring presence across the TfL network. TfL is also working with community organisations to engage with them on this issue and encourage reporting. TfL provides full support to the police for their investigations, through staff reporting and access to CCTV and oyster card data, to help bring any offenders to justice.

  • Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Justin Madders – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Justin Madders on 2016-04-12.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the sources of public finance will be for Sustainability and Transformation Plan footprints; whether each such footprint will have separate accounts; and whether such footprints will have the ability to borrow.

    George Freeman

    Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) footprints are not statutory entities and therefore will not have the ability to borrow. As set out in the NHS England Board paper in December 2015, organisations covered by the STP footprints may collectively apply to operate using a system control total.

  • Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Greg Mulholland – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Greg Mulholland on 2016-05-19.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether purdah arrangements for the EU referendum apply to policy statements to be published by NHS England on the commissioning of treatments.

    George Freeman

    Whilst the pre-election guidance for the European Union referendum has yet to be published, it is not anticipated that it would prevent the routine publication of clinical commissioning policy statements which are a ‘business as usual’ function of NHS England.

    The Cabinet Office publishes pre-election guidance for civil servants which also applies to NHS England and other arm’s length bodies. This can be found at:

    https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/election-guidance-for-civil-servants

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